Central Africa Technical Climate Advisor (Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo)

Washington, DC, United States

Management and Engineering Technologies International, Inc. (METI), in support of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Office of International Programs, may require the services of a Central Africa Technical Climate Advisor to provide regional technical support in Central Africa to design and implement climate change programs.

Background

The Congo Basin rainforest is the second largest tropical contiguous forest in the world providing climate regulation ecosystem services locally, regionally and globally. It is an essential rich resource for the communities that depend on it and provides a haven of unique biodiversity including many endemic species. Unlike other tropical forest areas, the Congo Basin forest still acts as a carbon sink, but these trends could be reversed if there is an increase in deforestation and forest degradation.

The U.S. Forest Service International Programs has been working in the Congo Basin for more than 20 years through several different U.S. Government technical assistance programs including the USAID Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE), the U.S. Government interagency SilvaCarbon program, the USAID Sustainable Wetland Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP), and the U.S. Department of State Climate Fellows program.

In Central Africa the U.S. Forest Service works with government agencies, local communities, local and international NGOs, universities and international technical partners to implement a range of technical support programs aiming to protect and sustainably manage natural resources in the region.

The urgency for immediate action to ensure sustainable management of the Congo Basin forest has been underlined through projected climate trends and the recent UNFCCC COP27 negotiations. To support countries in meeting their emission reduction commitments as well as building technical capacity, the U.S. Forest Service is expanding its current portfolio on climate change and sustainable forest management and may seek a Technical Climate Advisor to support program design and implementation within Central Africa.

Position Description:

The Technical Climate Advisor will be based in Central Africa, in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo and will work with the broader U.S. Forest Service International Programs Central Africa team to design and implement programs across the region.

Core duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Initiate and participate in national conversations on forest monitoring, climate change reporting, REDD+ programming and other climate change mitigation and adaptation programs and processes;

Provide technical support to key government partners responding to specific technical assistance requests and needs, including, but not limited to backstopping national processes and providing trainings and workshops;

Support the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation activities, and sustainable forest management programs in Central Africa including but not limited to CARPE, SilvaCarbon and SWAMP;

Facilitate program activity planning, logistics and reporting;

Provide implementation support to emission reduction programs such as REDD+ both on MRV as well as safeguards and benefit sharing;

Provide implementation support to backstopping countries to understand and access forest / climate finance within their country-specific context;

As needed, support the development of project concept notes and additional climate finance proposals for new programs and attracting investments in emission reduction activities in forestry and land sectors;

Represent the U.S. Forest Service at technical and partner meetings and international forums.

Specific focus and engagement of the Technical Advisor will be determined by evolving programming and partner needs within the region.

Qualifications:

The applicant must meet the following minimum professional qualifications to be considered for the position:

A master's degree or doctorate (preferred) or equivalent experience in natural resource management, environmental science, or a related field;

At least five years of international work experience in a natural resource or environment-related field, preferably related to climate change;

Proven experience in the implementation of MRV systems and inter-agency data-sharing systems;

Knowledge of core technical and policy issues pertinent to the development and implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and programs;

Experience working on result-based payments emission reduction projects such as REDD+ or other climate forest finance mechanisms (preferred);

Experience working with US Government agencies and development organizations such as the US Agency for International Development (USAID) or the Department of State (DOS) (preferred);

Demonstrated ability to provide technical coordination and leadership with a broad range of interested parties, across cultures, languages, and varying capacity levels;

Experience working with national governmental technical agencies and other international technical partners (preferred);

Strong program management and organizational skills including concept note development and donor reporting;

Strong representational, inter-personal and communication skills;

Proficient computer skills including Microsoft Office and database management (required) and GIS (preferred);

Experience in living and working in Africa/Central Africa (strongly preferred)

Excellent oral and written communication skills in French and English;

Location: The position would be based in Brazzaville, RoC with travel regionally or internationally as needed.

Period of Performance: One year with the possibility of extension

Compensation: Commensurate with experience and qualifications

To Apply: If you would like to share in METI's success, please apply to the posting by clicking on this link: https://jobs.localjobnetwork.com/j/74121058. Apply by July 15th, 2023 with a resume and letter of interest.

If having any difficulty with the link, interested candidates should send a resume and letter of interest to the HR Department at METI to [email protected] with Central Africa Technical Climate Advisor in the subject line.

If the US Forest Service were to secure the services of an individual with these technical skills, the successful applicant would be hired through a contractor.

METI is an Equal Opportunity Employer: M/F/V/D www.meticorp.com

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